Flexion back brace



Nov. 7, 1967 F. L. STUTTLE 3,351,053

FLEXION BACK BRACE Filed Nov. 15, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Fred LStutfle ATTORNEX Nov. 7, 1967 F. L. STUTTLE FLEXION BACK BRACE 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 13, 1962 55 FIG.5.

TI f: W BY I INVENTOR Fred L. Stuttle ATTORNEY Nov. 7, 1967 F. L.STUTTLE FLEXION BACK BRACE 4 SheetsSheet 3 Filed Nov. 15, 1962 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Nov. 7, 1967 F. L. STUTTLE FLEXION BACK BRACE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed Nov. 13, 1962 FIGLIQ.

'FIG.I|.

INVENTOR Fred L. Sflutfle ATTORNEY V United States Patent 3,351,053FLEXION BACK BRACE Fred L. Stnttle, Peoria, 111., assignor to FloridaBrae Corporation, Winter Park, Fla., a corporation of Florida Filed Nov.13, 1962, Ser. No. 236,924 7 Claims. (Cl. 128-78) The present inventionrelates to a fiexion back brace.

An object of this invention is to provide a fiexion back brace adaptedto accurately follow the changed contours of the lower body as itfollows a corrected flat back position of the lower body.

Another object is to provide a flexion back brace having arcs of bracemotion when applied to the patients back corresponding to the motions ofthe various parts of the back engaging in the change of position.

Another object is to provide a back brace having a low floating pivotpoint near the lumbosacral area which beneficially floats backward tofollow rearward displacement of the flattening lumbosacral area andfollow similar nonbending relation of the back dynamic brace parts as anactive flat back is developed from a lordotic low back.

Yet another object is to provide a fiexion back brace of high clinicalvalue combined with comfort to the patient.

Another object is to provide a more simple construction made up ofinterchangeable prefabricated parts adapted to be easily and quicklyassembled as a complete unit.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent as theinvention is fully understood, the same resides in the novelty ofconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter describedin detail and distinctly claimed in the appended claims.

The description should be read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the presentinvention spread open for application to the body of a patient;

FIGURE 2 is a view of the device secured together;

FIGURE 3 shows the back brace section and the low floating pivot pointthereof removed from the main supporting portions of the brace;

FIGURE 4 is a side view in elevation of the present invention applied tothe body in proper position with respect to the upper and lowerlumbosacral areas;

FIGURE 5 is a rear view in elevation of the lower band or bar of thebrace positioned at the lower sacral level with the bottom edge near thetail bone" level and of the top band or bar at approximately the tenththoracic vertebra, which curves down at each end to slightly underliethe fixed ribs of the wearers body for maximum comfort and clinicalvalue;

FIGURE 6 is a detailed view of one of the pivotconnections of therespective brace frame elements;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the presentinvention spread apart and positioned for application to the body of apatient;

FIGURE 8 is a view of the device of FIGURE 7 secured together;

FIGURE 9 shows the back brace frame section removed from the coveringtherefor, showing the three pivot points of the frame at each sidethereof;

FIGURE 10 is as ide view in elevation of the embodiment of thisinvention illustrated in FIGURE 8; and

FIGURE 11 is a rear view in elevation of the embodiment of FIGURE 10)Referring in detail to the drawings and first with particular referenceto FIGURES l, 2, 3 and 6, the flexion back brace comprises a rearsemi-rigid frame A and a front corset structure B. First with referenceto the frame A, the same comprises a slightly bowed bottom band 10 withupwardly extending body contoured arms 11 and 12,

, bushings by a headed screw which are pivoted on internally threadedpivot bushings 13 mounted in aligned openings at the lower ends of therespective arms and fitted in each of the adjacent ends of the bottomband 10. The arm ends are locked on the pivot 24. Vertically spacedabove the bottom band 10 is a top slightly bowed band 14, which isconnected adjacent each end by angularly positioned levers 19 and 20pivoted similarly on bushing means as shown in FIGURE 6. The levers 19and 20 are formed -with offset lower ends each formed with a pivot pointopening each for pivotal connection to their respectively adjacentupright arm 11 and 12 just above the respective pivot points of the armswith the lower band 10 at pivot connections-22 and 23, also, theselevers adjacent their respective upper ends 17 and 18 below the top band14 are formed withstrap slots 15 and16.

The several parts of the structure A are cushioned with a covering ofleather or other suitable material and the arms 11 and 12 are housedbetween the folded portions 25 and 26 at each end of leather gussetportions 27 and 28 at each side of a securing corset B.

. The gusset portions 27 and 28 are identical in structure and alongtheir respective vertical edges are formed with lace eyelets 29, whicheyelets are arranged to cooperate with similar oppositely arranged laceeyelets 30 in binding strips 32 and 33 sewed to each respective verticaledge of sheet rubber sheets 34 and 35. The sheets 34 and 35 are formedwith ventilation openings 36 and are vertically se cured at the navelportion of the corset B by a slide fastener 38, see FIGURES l and 2.

The corset B carries the rear brace portion A and the patient mayposition the assembled device around his body by closing the slidefastener 38 and then subsequently tightening the side lacings 40 at eachside gusset portion 27 and 28. A protective under tongue 39 under thelacing at each side is also provided.

The brace assembly includes upper and lower leather straps or belts 41and 42 and 43 and 44 on the opposite side, which are each attached in apredetermined manner. For example, belts 41 and 43 are suitably securedas by rivets 45, see FIGURE 4, adjacent to the upper ends of thefolded'portions 25 and 26, respectively, and are then looped throughtheir respectively adjacent slots 15 and 16 adjacent the upper ends 17and 18 of each of the levers 19 and 20 to the upper spaced apartangularly mounted buckles 50 and 51 secured to a leather apron 52positioned and position the bottom edge of the bottom brace band 10 inthe rear so of the spine, that is, at the tail bone level as shown inFIGURE 5. Next, with the left thumb and index fingertips together, crossover in front and push backward on the top end 18 of the right, oppositeside, loose upright lever arm 20, and pull this belt straight laterallyfrom the body with the right hand, swing it around forward maintainingtension against the edge of the right slot 15 of the lever arm 20 andwith the now freed left hand, insert the belt through the buckle 51 andcinch it up tightly. The same procedure is then posite side.

In securing the unit to the body the top band 14 should be carefully setto a'position so as to cross the spine at" first buckle one of thebottom belts to the apron 52. Then fasten the loose bottom belt in frontthat the edge is at the lowermost part I followed on the opapproximatelythe T level, that is, the tenth thoracic vertebra with the ends of theband curved downwardly, so that the top belts lie under the fixed ribsand thus leave these ribs free. Accordingly, considerable body side bendis permitted to provide comfort to the wearer.

The top band or bar 14 may have its ends curved down ward slightly toconform to the body below the fixed ribs and this downward curve shouldbe more pronounced for short-waisted individuals.

Also, for further comfort the lower belts do not have to be very tight.Their purpose is to control the level that the navel-level belts makewith respect to the abdomen. This will lessen the pressure on the groinand for the final fitting and for change in body weight and finalfitting occasioned by use, the lacings 40 on the side are provided withthe protective under tongue 39.

Now referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES6 through 10, there is provided a flexion back brace construction, whichis made up of a plurality of prefabricated units, namely, a back braceportion formed of a top band 14' and a botttom band 10'. These top andbottom bands are readily assembled by mechanically connecting uprightarms 11 and 12' and angularly positioned levers 19 and 20' including alower curved offset end 25'. The respective offset ends of the leversare pivoted to an intermediate point 26' just above the pivot point 27'of the respective lower ends of the upright arms 11' and 12' of theflexion frame A. The upper ends of the angular levers 19' and 20 areformed with openings, not shown, for alignment with correspondingopenings near each end of the top band 14' and are pivoted thereto bymeans, such as a bushing 13 and headed screw 24, as illustrated inFIGURE 6. Thus, each embodiment of this invention incorporates the samebushingand screw pivot construction, which makes it easy for the severalparts of the entire brace frame A to be assembled and materiallysimplifies mass production by such rapid assembly of the prefabricatedbrace parts.

The top and bottom bands are each slightly bowed to be body conformingand are padded and leather covered. For example, in making these bandsthe padding is positioned on the body adjacent sides thereof and theleather cover of band 14 is secured by edge to edge stitchings S throughthe leather lapped edges and the lapped edges of the leather enclosedpadding. The back of the. top band 14' has the leather cover slotted toaccommodate the end adjacent portions of the levers 19' and 20 and thebottom band leather cover is slotted on each exterior end to accommodatethe lower ends of the upright arms 11' and 12'. These slots in theleather cover are of predetermined length to permit the respectivelevers and arms to swing laterally on their respective pivots.

Thus each side of the frame A includes three pivots, which arrangementpermits the brace portion to float backward to follow rearwarddisplacement of the flattening lumbosacral area as an active flat backdevelops from a lordotic low back condition.

The back engaging frame portion A is combined with a front corsetportion B and differs from the corset portion B of the first embodimentby the elimination of the more complex side laced gusset portions andthe front slide fastener, whereby the construction is simplified and ismore economically manufactured. For example, the upright arms 11' and 12are each sheathed in elongated pockets 60 along the rear verticallongitudinal edge of a prefabricated unit, namely a two-ply paddedsection 62. This padded section is rounded at the top edge and has a cutaway portion 63 at the bottom edge adjacent. the bottom band 10' of theback frame A. The section 62 is secured to the upper end of itsrespective upright arm 11; or 12; by a rivet 64, which rivet likewisesecurely anchors the end of a flexible strap 65, which loops through astrap loop or belt ring 66 held by suitable means, such as the straploop 67, Which is held by suitable means, such as a rivet 68 adjacentthe end of the top. band 14 on the rear face thereof. The strap fromloop 66 connects through securing strap rings 69 secured to the apron76' in the upper right corner thereof. This arrangement is duplicated ateach upper side of the frame A. Thus the opposite side includes asimilar strap 70, belt ring 71 and strap loop 72 for connecting with thebelt ring and for reeving through the ring 71 to belt or strap rings 82held by a riveted strap loop on the upper left corner of the leatherapron 76.

Each strap 65 and may be made of woven nylon tape or the like and theyare each formed on one side thereof with spaced apart hooked pile fabricfastener sections 74 and 75. These hooked pile fabric sections arearranged to secure together when either of the straps are reversed uponthemselves in face-to-face contact after being passed through strapsecuring rings. For example, strap 70 passes through ring 69 suitablesecured as by a rivet and strap loop 81 to the upper right corner of theleather apron 76 at the abdominal or front portion of the corset B.Typical hook pile fastener means are Wellknown, for example, see PatentNumber 2,717,437, which is representative of the pile fabric fastenerstructure.

Each two-ply padded section 62 along its longitudinal front bodyexterior edge has secured thereto a coacting raised hook pile fastenerstrip 84, which is placed to coact with a similar hook pile fastenerstrip 85 along the body interior edge of an abdominal band 86. This bandis a prefabricated unit and may be of any suitable material, such aslastex or stretchable rubber and is preferably formed with air openingsto provide the breathing of air to and from the wearers body. The band86 is made identical at each free transverse edge and is reinforced ateach edge by a two-ply folded strip of leather sewed thereto along withthe respective fastener strip 85.

When the patient is to apply the back brace and corset combination tohis body, the same is applied by positionting the top band 14' so as tocross at approximately the T'-10 level, that is, the tenth thoracicvertebra with the ends of the top band curved downwardly, so that thetop straps when secured will be under the fixed ribs and thus leave theribs free. However, before the top straps are fastened, the abdominalband 86 is pulled across the abdomen and each hook pile fabric fastener85 is pushed into face-to-face fastening connection, with the coactingfastener 84 on the longitudinal edge of the side members 62. Thus theentire flexion body brace is held in position for a final straptightening through the strap rings riveted by the respective leatherloops on the four corners at the front of the rectangular apron 76.

The bottom band 10 has fastener straps 88 and 89 secured theretoadjacent'each end inside the pivot points of each upright arm 11' and12', by suitable means such as a rivet 90 and a reinforcement ply ofleather 91. These straps are each provided with spaced hook pilefastener units 92 and 93 and are adapted to be reeved through straploops on rings 94 and 96 arranged at the opposite lower corners and thenreversed upon themselves so as to provide fa'ce-to-face contact of thehook pile fastener units.

There is thus provided with this embodiment a finally assembled flexionback brace, wherein the several parts are each made in prefabricatedmass lots so that they may be assembled easily and quickly with aminimum of effort to provide greater economy in production.

Without further description it is believed that the advantages of thepresent invention over the prior art is apparent and while only twoembodiments of the same are illustrated, it is to be expresslyunderstood that the invention is not limited thereto as various changesmay be made in the combinition and arrangement of the parts illustrated,as will now likely appear to others and those skilled in the art. For adefinition of the scope or limits of the invention, reference should behad to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A flexion back brace for treating the lumbosacral area to change alordotic back to an active flat back comprising a semi-rigid rear braceportion and front adjustable corset portion secured at the rear to saidrear brace portion and having strap securing means on the front thereof,said rear brace portion comprising an upper contoured band adapted toprovide a rest across the upper lumbosacral area, said upper band havingpivoted lever means at each end, a lower contoured band adapted toprovide a rest across the lower lumbosacral area, upright arms from saidbottom band, said lever means being offset at their respective lowerends and extending angularly upward from the lower portion of each ofthe said upright arms, said lever means having pivot means secured toeach of said upright arms adjacent their respective lower ends andsecured to each opposite end of the said upper band, and a flexiblestrap means operatively associated with each of said pivoted lever meansadjacent each end of the said upper band, said straps being secured atone end to a side of said corset portion and at the other end to saidstrap securing means on the front of said corset portion.

2. A flexion back brac for treating the lumbosacral area to change alordotic back to an active flat back comprising a semi-rigid rear braceportion and front adjustable corset portion secured at the rear to saidrear brace portion and having strap securing means on the front thereofas described in claim 1, wherein said strap securing means comprises anapron, said apron having spaced pairs of strap securing means foradjustably securing said flexible strap means.

3. A flexion back brace for treating the lumbosacral area to change alordotic back to an active flat back comprising a semi-rigid rear braceportion and front adjustable corset portion secured at the rear to saidrear brace portion and having strap securing means on the front thereofas described in claim 1, wherein the pivot points of said lever meanssecured to each opposite end of said upper band are floating pivots andmove rearwardly from the patients body progressively in response tochanges from a lordotic back to a flat back.

4. A flexion back brace for treating the lumbosacral area to change alordotic back to an active flat back comprising a semi-rigid rear braceportion and front adjustable corset portion secured at the rear to saidrear brace portion and having strap securing means on the front thereofas described in claim 1, wherein said adjustable corset portion includespreformed side means with elongated pockets on each side for connectingwith said upright arms from the lower band of said rear brace portion.

5. A back brace construction having back engaging portions and anabdomen embracing portion, said back engaging portions having rigidupright means secured in said abdomen portion, a dynamic top band onsaid brace, a bottom band movable with respect to said top bandpivotally connected with said upright means adapted to provide a restacross the tail bone of the spine, said upright means having inwardlyoffset lever arms pivoted thereto above the level of said bottom band,said ends of the lever arms being pivoted to said dynamic top band ofthe brace, and flexible straps reeved through means secured on each endof said top band.

6. A flexion back brace construction as described in claim 5, whereinsaid abdomen embracing portion of said brace comprises padded leatherside portions with an elongated vertically extending pocket forconfining and securing said spaced apart upright arms therein, each ofsaid padded leather side portions being formed along the exteriorvertical edge thereof with a section of hook pile fabric, and an elasticabdominal sheet having a section of hook pile fabric along each oppositeinterior vertical edge thereof for face-to-face engagement each with oneof the hook pile fabric sections on a respectively adjacent paddedleather side, whereby said back brace may be secured around the body ofa wearer.

7. A flexion back brace construction as described in claim 5, whereinsaid abdomen portion of said brace comprises padded leather sideportions with an elongated vertically extending pocket for confining andsecuring said spaced apart upright arms therein, each of said paddedleather side portions being formed along the exterior vertical edgethereof with a section of hook pile fabric, and an elastic abdominalsheet having a section of hook pile fabric along each opposite interiorvertical edge thereof for face-to-face engagement each with one of thehook pile fabric sections on a respectively adjacent padded leatherside, whereby said back brace may be secured around the body of awearer, an apron retained over elastic abdominal sheet, said apronincluding flexible strap securing means, and flexible straps connectedwith each end of said top and bottom bands, said straps each havingspaced apart hook pile fabric fastener means for adjustably securingsaid straps in position after attachment to said apron.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,162,189 6/1939 Williams 128-782,453,370 11/ 1948 Hittenberger 12878 2,886,031 5/1959 Robbins 128-783,021,838 2/1962 Fine 128-96 3,075,521 1/1963 Grassl.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. JORDAN FRANKLIN, Examiner. G. E.MCNEILL, Assistant Examiner.

1. A FLEXION BACK BRACE FOR TREATING THE LUMBOSACRAL AREA TO CHANGE ALORDOTIC BACK TO AN ACTIVE FLAT BACK COMPRISING A SEMI-RIGID REAR BRACEPORTION AND FRONT ADJUSTABLE CORSET PORTION SECURED AT THE REAR TO SAIDREAR BRACE PORTION AND HAVING STRAP SECURING MEANS ON THE FRONT THEREOF,SAID REAR BRACE PORTION COMPRISING AN UPPER CONTOURED BAND ADAPTED TOPROVIDE A REST ACROSS THE UPPER LUMBOSACRAL AREA, SAID UPPER BAND HAVINGPIVOTED LEVER MEANS AT EACH END, A LOWER CONTOURED BAND ADAPTED TOPROVIDE A REST ACROSS THE LOWER LUMBOSACRAL AREA, UPRIGHT ARMS FROM SAIDBOTTOM BAND, SAID LEVER MEANS BEING OFFSET AT THEIR RESPECTIVE LOWERENDS AND EXTENDING ANGULARLY UPWARD FROM THE LOWER PORTION OF EACH OFTHE SAID UPRIGHT ARMS, SAID LEVER MEANS HAVING PIVOT MEANS SECURED TOEACH OF SAID UPRIGHT ARMS ADJACENT THEIR RESPECTIVE LOWER ENDS ANDSECURED TO EACH OPPOSITE END OF THE SAID UPPER BAND, AND A FLEXIBLESTRAP MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF SAID PIVOTED LEVER ARMSADJACENT EACH END